A/N: Sorry this one took a bit longer to update than I originally planned. I sort of rewrote the entire thing from scratch 3 or 4 times. Seems the muse was not content to leave it alone. One more chapter after this. Also, today's chapter title comes from Julie Robert's "Rain on a Tin Roof"

Brennan found herself running down a long dark street. She didn't know why she was running, just that it was important. When she got to the end of the block, she looked around. She saw Booth's SUV. Booth! That had been the reason she was hurrying. She ran to the car and opened up the driver's side door. Inside the car, Booth was pressing his arms against his stomach, blood seeping through his shirt.

"Booth? What happened?" She cried as she tried to examine his injuries.

"Bones…" He groaned, unable to tell her how he had ended up with the bullets in his abdomen. "Please. Help me." He begged. Anyone who saw his injuries would know that there was nothing she could do, but this was Booth and she was not going to give up on him.

"Booth, look at me. I know that you are hurting right now but I am going to get you out of here. I promise." She felt someone tap her on the shoulder and when she turned around, Hannah was placing a gun in her hands. She looked down at the gun and when she looked up, Hannah was gone. Booth, however, was staring at the gun in her hands.

"Bones…" He whispered, blood seeping out of the corner of his lips. "Why did you do it?" He asked. "Why did you do it, Bones?" His eyes went blank as the life slipped out of him.

"Booth? Booth!" But he was gone. "I'm sorry." She cried as she held his lifeless body against her own. "I'm so sorry."

"Bones!" She sat up in terror as she looked around her office. Booth was standing over her, looking concerned. "It's okay. You are in your office. You were just having a nightmare." He said cautiously, knowing just how disorienting waking up from a nightmare could be. She didn't say anything simply threw her arms around him and squeezed. Booth was caught off-guard by the action, but he didn't let her see that. He just let her hug him.

"You were…and I couldn't save you…" She wanted to explain; why couldn't she explain? Booth pulled away and wiped a tear from her cheek. She hadn't even realized she had been crying, but now that she looked down at her hands, she saw that she was also shaking.

"It's okay, Bones. It's over." He said, hoping to comfort her with the facts. "I'm right here. I'm fine. It was just a dream."

"I don't want to lose you." She confessed.

"Hey, that's never going to happen." Booth promised as he hugged her again. She didn't look convinced. "Bones, look at me." He demanded. "You are never going to lose me." His eyes reflected the certainty of his statement.

"You really don't see it, do you?" She said. "I already have, Booth." She said, knowing it was true. "You're angry, I get that, but you've been blaming me. I keep trying to save you and either I succeed and you love me or I fail and you blame me. I'm tired of it." She said as she stood up. Booth was stunned into silence, unable to even form a sentence to stop her from leaving. "I have to go." She said as she stood up.

"Bones!" But she was out the door before he could even protest. He gave her a twenty second head start before his head kicked in and he raced after her. The last year had been such a mess, but he knew that letting her go would only make things worse. They had to sort this out once and for all.

OOOOO

Booth didn't bother knocking as he let himself in to her apartment. He found her standing in her kitchen and she did not look happy to see him.

"Go home, Booth." She said, sounding exhausted. When he made no attempts to leave, she tried again. "Please? Just go away."

"No." He said, sure of himself. She looked shocked by his dismissal of her request.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm your partner and partners are there for you when you need them, even if you don't want them around." He said, refusing to move an inch.

"Exactly, I don't want you around!" She cried as she moved into the living room, hoping to get rid of him.

"You don't mean that." He said.

"I really do. Go home!"

"No."

"What do you mean no? This is my house and I want you to leave." She said, outraged that he would refuse to listen to her.

"No." He said. "You told me on Friday that I wasn't going to be able to push you away anymore. Well, you're not going to be able to push me away anymore either. And if that means I have to sit on your couch until you are ready to talk to me, then I will. But I am not leaving."

"God, you've been gone the last year and a half!" She cried. 'Why would you stick around now when I finally want to be alone?" She asked, hoping the comment stung as much as his did. Judging by the look on his face, it did.

"Bones…"

"Go home, Booth." She told him one last time before slamming the door to her bedroom behind her. In the echoing silence that followed her outburst, Booth knew that she was right. He had been pushing her away, as much as she had ever pushed him. He also knew that his behavior was about to change. He heard her crying softly just on the other side of the door and he put his hand on the door knob, unsure if he wanted to risk opening it or not. At hearing another sniff, he turned the knob slowly and made his way inside.

She was sitting on the bed, angry tears flowing freely. He still wasn't used to seeing her cry and it felt like a tire iron to his gut. He sat down next to her and tried to wrap an arm around her but she shoved him off of her and stood up.

"No." She said as she folded her arms around herself instead. "I'm fine alone." She said, her chin jutting a little too firmly into the air.

"I know." He whispered. "I know you are." He waited a second before continuing, unsure of what he should reveal. "Bones, you have to understand. I didn't mean to push you away, I just…I couldn't handle both of you at the same time." There was no need to clarify who he was referring to. "God, I couldn't even be in the same room with you without the blue of your eyes, your perfume, that crooked way you smile when you're proud of yourself, all of those things would haunt me for the rest of the night." He admitted. "And then what? I go home to Hannah? Touch Hannah while I'm thinking of you?" He shook his head. "That couldn't happen."

"Then why were you with her?"

"Because I couldn't have you!" He cried. Brennan looked down at her hands and Booth sighed, trying to find a way to explain. "Do you know that story? About the guy who gets sent to Hell and the fruit is always just out of reach and the water is always receding when he tries to drink?"

"Tantalus?"

"Yes." He laughed at the dark and twisted appropriateness of it all. "You're tantalizing, Bones. Whenever I take a step forward, you take a step back. When I take a step back, you take a step forward." He paused as he took her in. "You are the thing that I've always wanted but have never been allowed to touch." Brennan heard the dark tones of his voice and it stirred something inside of her. She looked at him, the passion from their fighting suddenly taking a brand new turn. The tension between them pulled something from her until she finally snapped.

"Then do it." She said, making up her mind. His eyes went dark, despite the shocked look on his face. "I'm serious." She said as she unbuttoned her blouse and shoved it off her shoulders. She stood directly in front of him. "I'm tired of the games and the glances and the unspoken words, Booth. If you want me, then take me. Take me, because I can't keep doing this with you." She reached for her zipper on her pencil skirt but his hand grabbed her wrist firmly, stopping her in her tracks. They were both staring, waiting out the deafening silence, waiting for someone to make the next move. And as he held her wrist and stared into her eyes, they felt it all: the pent-up frustration, the years of sexual tension, the kindness and anger, the guilt and the passion. It roared in their ears and crackled like electricity just before a thunderstorm. With a single flick of Booth's gaze to her lips, the stalemate was broken and they were in each other's arms. Desperate, pleading kisses were scattered indiscriminately on hot flesh as clothes were torn from bodies, the only clear motivation was the never-ending need for satisfaction that had haunted them for so many years. This was not making love, this was not two becoming one. This was simply two people who needed to stop the needing.

Booth pushed her against the wall as his hands held her wrists above her head. He hovered behind her, leaning down to whisper in her ear.

"Tell me you want it." He said. No matter the situation, he would never touch her if she didn't want him too. They both knew it. But there was something about him demanding permission from her. "Tell me you can't stop thinking about my cock sliding inside of you and pounding away until we can't move." Brennan let out a moan of tortured frustration as she felt his erection rubbing teasingly against her slick folds. "Tell me you don't lie awake at night, slipping your fingers into your wet pussy and fantasizing that it's my tongue." She turned her head to the side, wanting to make sure that he heard her loud and clear.

"Every night." Booth saw the strong glint of power flash in her eyes as she turned the tables on him. She knew what her words would do to him. He may have had her pinned against the wall, but he didn't have control of the situation and they both knew it. Her independence, her strength, her incessant need to be difficult, it was what simultaneously drove him nuts and made him love her. Tonight, it was what shattered his self control. He thrust himself into her sharply, causing her to cry out in surprise. He moved slowly, but deeply, wanting her to feel him. He had waited years for this; it was not going to end quickly. She was going to remember this, the same way he constantly remembered her. He wanted to haunt her, ruin her for others the way that she had ruined him. She reached behind her and clutched at his hair with her hand as he buried himself in the crook of her neck. He kissed and bit the soft white skin as he found it, wanting to both permanently mark her as his own and mar the perfect, saintly flesh that adorned her. If she wasn't perfect, maybe she wouldn't seem like the answer to all of his prayers. Maybe then he could escape her. Her cries in response were a luscious mixture of pleasure and pain and they were timed with each of his thrusts. He hadn't realized he had quickened his pace, but her sounds were calling him, setting the rhythm against his will. His hand landed on top of hers, intertwining their fingers as he pressed her palm against the wall. It was a surprisingly intimate gesture under the circumstances and it reminded her that this was still Booth. With his name on her lips, she came undone. Her release triggered his own and they both went hurtling forward before sliding to the floor in exhaustion. As they slid, reality slowly crept back in. The anger, frustration, sadness and blame slipped away and in their wake was simply two naked and vulnerable people, lying halfway in each other's arms.

"What the Hell was that?" He asked, unsure of what came over them.

"I thought it was sex." She said. "Great sex actually, although I'd be the first to admit I never expected it to happen like that."

"Me either." He said.

"So what does this mean?"

"I don't know." They both laid on the floor, staring up at the ceiling.

"Do you want to sleep on it?" She asked. He was surprised by her question, but the answer came before he could filter it.

"Yeah. I do." He said. All of the emotional upheaval had made him exhausted before the sex had even begun.

"Okay then." She yawned as she stood up and started clearing decorative pillows off her bed. "We'll just talk about it later."

"Yep." He said as he joined her in turning down the sheets. "Later."

OOOOO

An hour later, Brennan awoke to find that she was cuddled up against her partner, naked. While this was at first alarming, she had to admit, it did have its advantages. She closed her eyes for a few more minutes until Booth began to stir next to her. She felt him staring so she opened her eyes and glanced over. He looked so familiar, with disheveled hair and tired eyes. She hadn't seen him wake up in years, but the memories of days of undercover cases and late night paperwork came flooding back.

"Hi."

"Hi." They stared into each other's eyes for a few more seconds before Brennan shook off the trance.

"How did you sleep?" She had no idea where the question came from, but it was something.

"Like a rock, actually." He said as he stretched. "And you?" He asked as he caught Brennan looking at his chest.

"I've never understood that expression as rocks don't actually sleep." She informed him. "But I slept well." He chuckled as he stared at her. This was his partner, his Bones. And he had just had sex with her. Holy Fuck.

"Hey Bones?"

"Hmm."

"I'm sorry."

"Again?"

"This time it's for that hickey I left on your neck." He said as he pointed to her skin. She touched it and furrowed her eyebrows before chuckling. "But for everything else too. I've made a lot of mistakes when it comes to our relationship and I'm sorry."

"I've made quite a few mistakes myself." She said. "I'm sorry for them as well."

"And now we're back to where we started this morning." He said, catching them up.

"We didn't have sex this morning. That was new." She offered.

"Yeah, definitely new." He concurred.

"And it was good, a bit dark."

"Really dark." He agreed. "I always assumed sex with you would be more…I don't know, gentle?"

"Really? I always figured we would get toe to toe during one of our bickering sessions and we'd just end up on someone's desk." She said honestly. They both got a little dazed as they pictured this. The fact that they were both naked and mere inches from each other did not help the situation at all. Then again, they had agreed to talk about things more seriously 'later' so this wasn't really breaking any rules. In fact, later could be days, weeks or even months away.

"Booth?" Brennan asked hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to have sex again?"

"Definitely." He said quickly as they both grabbed wildly for each other.

Later was definitely better.